Yeah, but those are the departure times. UA #1864 is in the air at both noontime at the time zone of departure and the time zone of arrival. Looking only at the arrival time zone (CST), UA #1184 essentially departs at 11:27 a.m. and arrives at 1:49 p.m. Or, if you prefer considering only the departure time zone (MST), UA #1184 departs at 10:27 a.m. and effectively arrives at 12:49 p.m. I don't see how UA can rationalize not offering meal service on this flight in first, especially when it offers lunch on the later departure. UA #1184 boards too early (9:57 a.m.) to make it convenient to eat or grab lunch beforehand and arrives at its destination well after most people would eat lunch (1:49 p.m.).

It's all academic, I guess. We're on the flight, have no desire to prolong our layover to wait for a later flight just because it offers a meal, and will manage to survive. Still, it is difficult to understand what the powers that be at UA are thinking with regard to their catering decisions. And, it is pretty pathetic that UA can't bring itself to offer a meal in first class on this flight.